Morning journal and courier., 1887-04-06
THE COMPLIMENTARY.

Hearing on the Hills Relating to the
 Sale of the Derby-President Joel A.
 Sperry's Oner-If His offer of $25O.-
 GOO is Accepted Will Sell Fro Rata
 to the stockholders Storrs
 Agricultural School-A Strong Argu-
 ment Made in Favor of it's Removal
 to Walnngford-Other Legislative | Matters. HARTFORD, April 5, 1887. Especial to the JOURNAL AND CoURIER1 There were four important committee l meetings in progress to-day. The prolonged l hearing on the petition for free bridges in | Hartford county was resumed in the Senate | chamber this afternoon. In the hall of the House the committee on new counties and county seats resumed the hearing of witness es in favor of making Winchester and New | Milford the shire towns of Litchfeld county. | The Henry l.. Goodwin memorial hearing is another which attracted general interest I about the Capitol. But what seemed to be the all absorbing topic this afternoon was the | hearing before the agricultural committee re- ! garding the Storrs Agricultural school appro- | priation. The hearing was in relation to the | appropriation of $39, ,000 for the school | which is now located in the town of Mans field and recommending the removal of
 the school to Wallingford. The hearing was largely attended.
 New Haveners will remember the body of so | termed "Communists'' which located at Wal l lingford some ten or twelve years ago. In | 1881 they removed to New York State after
 having built large and commodious build l ings accommodating one hundred persons. l When the petition for an appropriation of 1 $39, ,000 was presented to the legislature, 1 Representative Kendrick, of Wallingford, at once saw that it would be a good thing for his town if the school was located l at the Community" place. A boom was at l once begun which it is thought will prove successful. At meeting held in Walling ford last Saturday committee of ten was appointed to use all honorable means to se- cure the location of the school in that town. At the hearing this afternoon Judge F. O. Bartholomew, chairman of this committee, introduced the subject. Attorney H. F. Hall, of Wallingford, was the first person heard. He spoke of the great desirability | and the excellent accommodation that would | be furnished by the new location. "There l are $50 acres of land in the site," said he. | ''In the main meadow and pasture there are | thirty-t three acres. Twenty-Five acres river | meadow. In the orchards there are: Four | acres pear, two and one-half acres quinces and fifteen apple. East of the house there | are twenty five acres. There are twenty acres woodland, ten acres additional pasture land, six acres of ploughed land and four acres of lawn. In the main building, which was built in 1871, there thirty-nine sleeping rooms and dining rooms, halls, etc. There are many outbuildings, which are in excellent Ill hr,1r three large barns. There are also two dwell ing houses on the property which are rented and bring $12 per month at the present time 1 would advise the committee to visit the place and they can see that l am not overIating it's many good and desirable points. I have ascertained that the proper ty can be purchased for $20, 000."
 ''I wish had $20, 900 to invest" said Hartford man who seemed surprised at the low figure, land I'd go down to Wallingford and get ahead of the State"
 O. H. D. Fowler, graduate of the Shef- field Scientific school, presented a map for examination of Wallingford, showing the location of the property. He strongly advo- cated the removal of the school to Walling- ford.
 Representative KenGrick, who has taken such an active interest in the matter, was the next and best speaker of the hearing; his l remarks were concise, interesting and to the | point. He spoke of the accessibility to the proposed location and the general good re- suits which would certainly be derived ''It is about time," said he, "that the farmers of this State had something that is not barren and inaccessible"
 Secretary of State L. M. Hubbard spoke in favor, as well as MT; Cook, prominent agriculturist was made in favor of it by Secretary Hub bard. It was shown that there was no desire to change the name of the school or oust any of the present officers. The opposition was principally from those connected with the l school and the representatives from that sec- ton who would naturally oppose any re- moval.
 The railroad committee were to hold hear ings on two subjects to day. The first was to be the Goodwin memorial. but the day was set down for the arguments the commit tee refused to hear the statements that MT. 1 Goodwin had prepared, in which he said he had discovered discrepancy in the state ment of the Consolidated roads report for last year of the income of the sinking fund l amounting to S12,000. c. B. Davis of the committee figured on the report and found that there was question about the fiscal year in which the alleged discrepancy occurred. MT. Goodwin persisted that certain witnesses should be called, but Senator Graham, chairman of the committee, refused to hear anything but ar guments. Ex-Judge Sill, covnsel for MT. | MT. Robinson didn't care to so the case ended.
 The bills relative to the sale of the Derby l railroad were next called up by Chairman Graham. There three bills included in the call. The original bill provides that no sale of the road shall be valid unless propo- sals for it shall be filed thirty days in ad vance with the city treasurer, and that these proposals shall be prepared for advertise ments, and so on, by special committee ap- pointed by the legislature for the purpose, and that the purchaser shall abolish the grade crossing at Meadow street inside of five years. Joel A. Sperry, presi- dent of the Derby, the first to testify. eff you abolish the grade crossing at Meadow street," said Mr. Sperry, "you cut the Derby off from tidewater. It would be a serious drawback to the best interests of the road. The road turns 20, 900 tons of freight per year over to the steamboat companies, | and this cutting us off from the docks would be a serious loss, indeed. If the road is to be sold at all, why not do it at public auction to the highest bidder? 1 have made an offer of | $25O, 600 for the road, and other stockholders | are interested. If my offer is accepted l | would sell it back to the stockholders pro | rata, according to the stock" c. T. Driscoll | opposed the bill and thought the city had no 1 need for a conservator. It would be unneces- | sary interference on the part of the State. | Morris F. Tyler also opposed. Lawyer John c. Gallagher, who appeared | for his father in support of the substitute bill, made an interesting statement concern | ing the history of the Derby road ! He said that when the road was not a paying investment there was no
 talk of selling; but just as soon as it be- gan to pay all sorts of offers were | made for it. The lowest is the bid of $175 900 by the Housatonic Valley company-a paper
 railroad-and what the citizens of New Ha-
 ven ask is to be protected from this lowest
 bidder for piece of solvent property. If it
 is to be sold, the citizens ask that it be sold ! to the highest bidder for cash. The counsel
 also said that to sell it in any other way ! would be in violation of that provision of the constitution which forbids
 municipality from making a gift to
 railroad corporation. The market value of
 the road, MT. Gallagher said, was $45O, 900,
 and if the city is willing to sell it for third
 of that the city should have conservator